Official selection of the 31st International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica publicly announced

The official selection of the 31st International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica (organized by Open University Subotica from September 22 to 27) will present 14 plays for children from around the world, picked by the Festival selector Zoran Đerić, PhD.

The festival’s audience will be able to watch a diverse and imaginative selection of performances arriving to Serbia from the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska - as well as performances by domestic theatres from Niš and Subotica.

Two plays from Serbia will participate in the competition program. Based upon Pushkin’s fairy-tale, the Puppet Theatre of Niš will perform a rendition of The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish (screenplay by Nina Pavlović, directed by Vjera Vidov). The play’s protagonist is an old fisherman living modestly in a dilapidated hut whose life is about to change upon catching a golden fish that promises the fulfillment of his wishes should he release it back into the sea. Children's Theatre Subotica will perform Play with me! (written by Tamaš Olah, Marta Bereš, Andrej Boka, directed by Andrej Boka). In their desire to provide everything for their children, parents sometimes forget to give them what they truly need - their attention and time. This play serves as a little reminder and an invitation to play.

Five stage productions will be brought in from neighboring countries: A Sugar-made Fairy Tale by Virovitica Theatre from Croatia (written and directed by Sara Lustig), Ferdo, the Giant Bird by Maribor Puppet Theatre from Slovenia (written by Andreja Peklar, directed by Katja Povša), The Green Mountain by NGO Youth Theatre from Montenegro (written by Mila Mašović Nikolić, directed by Branko Ilić), The Dress-Up Adventure by Gobi Dance Company from Hungary (written and directed by Rita Gobi) and Little Red Riding Hood by The Children’s Theatre of Republika Srpska (by Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault; screenplay written and directed by Ljudmila Fedorova).

The Czech Republic’s Divadla Kladnos Theatre will perform the play Prehistoric People (written and directed by Jiří Šponar). Triktrek Theatre from Estonia will perform the play Khuti (written and directed by Alexander Andreev). From France, La neigesur les cils Theatre will perform Don’t Wait for Me (written and directed by Vera Rozanova).

The Lithuanian No Shoes Theatre will perform the play I Tried (written by Kristina Marija Kulinič, directed by Ieva Jackevičiūtė). The Puppet Theatre Zwickau from Germany will perform 360° Virtual Puppetry: The Gold Diggers (written by Emanuel Geibel, directed by Monika Gerboc). Spain’s La Sonrisa del Lagarto Theatre will perform Simona the Monkey (written and directed by Marli Santana). Turkish shadow theatre Cengiz Oze will perform The Magic Tree (written and directed by Cengiz Ozek).

The jury members of this year’s official selection are: actress/director Morana Dolenc, Luka Kecman (this year's recipient of the "Little Prince" Award) and Ewa Tomaszewska (this year’s recipient of the “Oton Tomanić” Award).

The International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica is one of the most important regional festivals bringing together authors dedicated to the youngest theatre audiences. Focused primarily on puppetry (but also open to other art forms), the festival constantly contributes to promotion and development of children's theatre in Serbia. For its outstanding contribution to development of performing arts for children - and culture in general – in 2005 the Festival was awarded the "Vuk Award" (Republic of Serbia’s highest cultural recognition).

In 2009, the Festival was awarded the "Pro urbe" award for significant contribution to the development and reputation of city of Subotica by adding to its material and cultural legacy. The Festival is also the laureate of a 2009 "Grozdan's Giggle" special international award for contribution to development of drama education, presented by the Center for Drama Education in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina’s center of IDEA (International Association for Drama/Theatre and Education)).

This year’s edition of the International Festival of Children's Theatres Subotica is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Provincial Department for Culture, Public Information and Relations with Religious Communities of Vojvodina and the Municipality of Subotica. The production of the Festival will be managed by Open University Subotica.